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A review by createandchaos
The Tower of Nero by Rick Riordan
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The development that has been sown throughout The Trials of Apollo has finally come to its head in the final installment, The Tower of Nero.
The book itself is heart wrenching, the narrative displaying how Apollo has changed from where he started back in The Hidden Oracle and how he's putting all he's learned to use. Combined with the rest of the series, it's an ending that is heart wrenching and makes you want to cry with what all the characters have been through. It's a story of redemption, grief, trying to be better, and ultimately? At the core of it all, there was a story of escaping and beginning to heal from abuse.
The way Rick Riordan wrote Apollo and Meg finally break free from their abusers hold on them was heartbreaking, with it all beginning with Apollo recognizing the abuse Nero was inflicting on Meg back in The Hidden Oracle with what he dealt with under the hands of Zeus, a realization that has festered and expanded until it culminates into two powerful paragraphs/sentences in the last book.
"The Beast is dead." Meg tapped the side of her head. "I killed it..."
"As soon as I thought this, I realized how foolish it was. Zeus didn't work that way. He would not save me any more than Nero had saved Meg. I had to let go of that fantasy. I had to save myself."
The moments when they fight back against and/or came to the realization about their abuser is heartbreaking but it is also gratifying. They're free, they can heal, or in Apollo's case, with the newfound realizations about himself and how toxic and abusive the environment is among the Olympians, he's chosen to distance himself and to spend time with those who actually care about and love him.
He's spent more time and bonded with his children than he ever did before his trials and he's not going to let all that time go. He's moved on from his past, taking off his laurel wreath and contemplating the creation of the hyacinths, stating that he'd been responsible for Daphne transforming just to escape him and wondering if he created the hyacinths to commemorate Hyacinthus or to wallow in his grief and guilt. Hell, Apollo even misses the scars he gained over his journey because to they've become symbols of his humanity, they started to represent the hope that maybe he won't forget what it's like to be human. Apollo regained his own immortality and godhood for the purpose of keeping his promises, to come back, to remember being human, and to be better.
The Trials of Apollo has been a hell of a ride, but it was a ride worth taking.
The book itself is heart wrenching, the narrative displaying how Apollo has changed from where he started back in The Hidden Oracle and how he's putting all he's learned to use. Combined with the rest of the series, it's an ending that is heart wrenching and makes you want to cry with what all the characters have been through. It's a story of redemption, grief, trying to be better, and ultimately? At the core of it all, there was a story of escaping and beginning to heal from abuse.
"The Beast is dead." Meg tapped the side of her head. "I killed it..."
"As soon as I thought this, I realized how foolish it was. Zeus didn't work that way. He would not save me any more than Nero had saved Meg. I had to let go of that fantasy. I had to save myself."
The moments when they fight back against and/or came to the realization about their abuser is heartbreaking but it is also gratifying. They're free, they can heal, or in Apollo's case, with the newfound realizations about himself and how toxic and abusive the environment is among the Olympians, he's chosen to distance himself and to spend time with those who actually care about and love him.
He's spent more time and bonded with his children than he ever did before his trials and he's not going to let all that time go. He's moved on from his past, taking off his laurel wreath and contemplating the creation of the hyacinths, stating that he'd been responsible for Daphne transforming just to escape him and wondering if he created the hyacinths to commemorate Hyacinthus or to wallow in his grief and guilt. Hell, Apollo even misses the scars he gained over his journey because to they've become symbols of his humanity, they started to represent the hope that maybe he won't forget what it's like to be human. Apollo regained his own immortality and godhood for the purpose of keeping his promises, to come back, to remember being human, and to be better.
The Trials of Apollo has been a hell of a ride, but it was a ride worth taking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Grief